Ankeny Fanatic

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Boys' Basketball

Ankeny Fanatic Prep of the Week: Kolby Bechen, Centennial boys’ basketball

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Senior guard Kolby Bechen has helped the Ankeny Centennial boys' basketball team to a 1-4 record. He is averaging 3.8 points per game and leads the squad with 10 assists. Bechen scored six points on 2-of-5 shooting from 3-point range as the Jaguars posted a 63-45 win over visiting Valley on Dec. 19 for their first victory of the season. He also grabbed … [Read more...] about Ankeny Fanatic Prep of the Week: Kolby Bechen, Centennial boys’ basketball

‘It feels so good!’: Jaguars pull away in 2nd half, defeat Valley for first win of season

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(Story by Stephen McDaniel) With about 50 seconds left in Friday’s game against visiting Valley, Ankeny Centennial boys' basketball coach Matt Delger walked in front of his bench with a wide grin on his face and asked the reserves that don’t get much playing time if they wanted to close out the final minute. Delger’s smile quickly spread up and down … [Read more...] about ‘It feels so good!’: Jaguars pull away in 2nd half, defeat Valley for first win of season

‘It just didn’t go for us’: Jaguars’ rally falls short when late 3-pointer bounces off rim

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The Ankeny Centennial boys' basketball team fought an uphill battle on Friday night. The Jaguars nearly climbed out of an 11-point hole at Urbandale before their rally fell short, resulting in a 42-39 loss to the J-Hawks. Centennial had a chance to force overtime in the final seconds, but a deep 3-pointer by Keaton Kasperbauer bounced off the rim as … [Read more...] about ‘It just didn’t go for us’: Jaguars’ rally falls short when late 3-pointer bounces off rim

‘We’re darn close’: Jaguars battle Dowling down to wire before suffering 46-42 loss

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(Story by Stephen McDaniel) For the second straight game, the Ankeny Centennial boys' basketball team took a halftime lead and was just 16 minutes away from its first victory of the season. The Jaguars were still tied with under a minute left in Tuesday's game, but visiting Dowling Catholic made the plays down the stretch to escape with a 46-42 win on … [Read more...] about ‘We’re darn close’: Jaguars battle Dowling down to wire before suffering 46-42 loss

‘Our mentality is to keep getting better’: Jaguars open their season with 64-21 loss

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(Story by Stephen McDaniel) The Ankeny Centennial boys' basketball team knows that each night is going to be a battle in a loaded CIML Conference. And the Jaguars opened their season with potentially one of their hardest fights of the entire year. New head coach Matt Delger and the Jaguars went on the road Tuesday to face Class 4A title-contending … [Read more...] about ‘Our mentality is to keep getting better’: Jaguars open their season with 64-21 loss

‘We know every night will be a battle’: Delger, Jags ready for grueling schedule

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Matt Delger spent the last decade preparing for an opportunity that has now arrived. The longtime assistant coach under Bob Fontana has taken over the Ankeny Centennial boys' basketball program. He was Fontana's top assistant the last three years after coaching the sophomore team for the previous eight. "The transition has been easy," said Delger. "I … [Read more...] about ‘We know every night will be a battle’: Delger, Jags ready for grueling schedule

‘You want to get the best of the best’: Jags hire Delger, Harken to coach hoops teams

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Ankeny Centennial Activities Director Nate Lingren didn't have to look very far to find replacements for legendary basketball coaches Scott DeJong and Bob Fontana. Both of the Jaguars' new coaches were already in the building. Matt Delger, Fontana's former assistant, has been hired to take over the boys' program. He was introduced on Wednesday. "I … [Read more...] about ‘You want to get the best of the best’: Jags hire Delger, Harken to coach hoops teams

Centennial guard Jensen commits to play basketball next year at Wartburg College

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Ankeny Centennial senior guard Rex Jensen has committed to play basketball for Wartburg College next year. Jensen announced his decision on social media last week. "Blessed to announce I will be continuing my academic and basketball career at Wartburg College!" Jensen tweeted on X. Jensen helped the Jaguars to a 5-17 record this season. He started … [Read more...] about Centennial guard Jensen commits to play basketball next year at Wartburg College

‘I need to catch my breath’: Fontana steps down from Jags’ program after 12 years

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The only head coach in Ankeny Centennial boys' basketball history has stepped down from the program. Bob Fontana has resigned from his position after guiding the Jaguars to a 173-101 record over the last 12 seasons. "Not many coaches can say they got to come home and start a new program in a new school," said Fontana, who compiled a 474-299 mark … [Read more...] about ‘I need to catch my breath’: Fontana steps down from Jags’ program after 12 years

‘They just kept battling’: Jaguars finish 5-17 season with 78-44 loss at No. 4 NW

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The Ankeny Centennial boys' basketball team didn't go down without a fight. The Jaguars put a scare into fourth-ranked Waukee Northwest before the host Wolves pulled away in the second half for a 78-44 victory in a Class 4A substate semifinal on Friday. "Our kids were playing hard and playing fearless," said Centennial coach Bob Fontana. "It was tied … [Read more...] about ‘They just kept battling’: Jaguars finish 5-17 season with 78-44 loss at No. 4 NW

Jaguars overcome slow start to rout S.C. North, will face No. 4 Waukee NW Friday

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The Ankeny Centennial boys' basketball team is guaranteed to finish the season with a losing record. But that doesn't mean that the Jaguars can't make some noise in the postseason. Centennial kept its season alive on Monday by rolling to a 78-47 victory at Sioux City North in a Class 4A substate quarterfinal. The Jaguars were one of three teams from … [Read more...] about Jaguars overcome slow start to rout S.C. North, will face No. 4 Waukee NW Friday

‘We knew it was going to be a dogfight’: Jaguars fall to S.E. Polk in season finale

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It's time for the Ankeny Centennial boys' basketball team to put the regular season in the rear-view mirror. "The records don't matter in the postseason," said Centennial senior Sean Tunks. The Jaguars closed out the regular season on Thursday with a 53-49 loss to visiting Southeast Polk. It was a matchup of two squads trying to avoid finishing in the … [Read more...] about ‘We knew it was going to be a dogfight’: Jaguars fall to S.E. Polk in season finale

No. 7 Little Cyclones pull away in 2nd half for 57-29 victory over Centennial boys

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For the first 20 minutes of Tuesday's game at Ames, the Ankeny Centennial boys' basketball team hung around with the seventh-ranked squad in Class 4A. The Jaguars were in a position to possibly pull off an upset with a strong finish, trailing by just 28-22 midway through the third quarter. But then the Little Cyclones cranked up the defensive pressure … [Read more...] about No. 7 Little Cyclones pull away in 2nd half for 57-29 victory over Centennial boys

Waukee boys overcome Jacobson’s injury to beat Jaguars, stay in CIML title hunt

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Tuesday's game at Ankeny Centennial got off to a bad start for the Waukee boys' basketball team. The eighth-ranked Warriors lost leading scorer Evan Jacobson to a leg injury in the opening minutes of the contest. Jacobson was helped to the locker room and did not return to action. "You don't wish that on anybody, but they had some other kids step up," … [Read more...] about Waukee boys overcome Jacobson’s injury to beat Jaguars, stay in CIML title hunt

Fontana named state of Iowa recipient of Wooden Legacy Coach of the Year award

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Ankeny Centennial boys' basketball coach Bob Fontana has been named the state of Iowa recipient of the John Wooden Legacy Coach of the Year award.  Fontana was presented his award prior to Tuesday's game at home against Waukee. "I'm very humbled and feel honored to receive this award from the Wooden Foundation and the National High School … [Read more...] about Fontana named state of Iowa recipient of Wooden Legacy Coach of the Year award

Centennial boys earn road win over S.E. Polk for their first CIML Conference victory

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It took awhile, but the Ankeny Centennial boys' basketball team finally earned its first CIML Conference victory. The Jaguars made some big plays down the stretch and posted a 52-49 win at Southeast Polk on Friday. Both squads are now 1-13 in the league and will meet again in the regular-season finale on Feb. 20 at … [Read more...] about Centennial boys earn road win over S.E. Polk for their first CIML Conference victory

‘We just didn’t knock down our shots’: Scoring drought proves costly for Jaguars

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(Story by Stephen McDaniel) Cabryn Klingner laid the ball up past a defender, off the glass and into the hoop for the Ankeny Centennial boys' basketball team during the early stages of the third quarter in Tuesday's game at Johnston. Unfortunately for the Jaguars, Klingner’s layup ended up being their only … [Read more...] about ‘We just didn’t knock down our shots’: Scoring drought proves costly for Jaguars